Services

SPS an appealing option as market fundamentals shift

During late August bulk carrier spot rates soared to their highest levels for more than a decade, with Capesize rates breaking through $50,000 a day, and mid-year iron ore prices more than two-and-a-half times higher year on year, ship operators were weighing their repair options. They were well aware of forecasts from some analysts predicting that increased ship repair demand could well raise yard prices further and squeeze options in the coming months.

On the one hand, ship repair prices were already climbing on the back of extra regulationrelated demand, steel prices were high, and bulk carrier owners and container ship operators were considering repair options for older vessels on the basis of strong charter markets. On the other hand, strong spot rates meant that time off-hire was a key factor in repair strategy decisions.

What better time, then, to consider SPS (Sandwich Plate System) technology? SPS is a class-approved, one-time only, composite steel repair and strengthening option for new and existing ships and offshore assets that typically saves up to 60% of the time required for conventional crop-and-replace steel repair methods. The technology is not new and has been used in a range of sectors apart from marine and offshore.

They include various iconic structures around the world such as the Space Needle, Carnegie Hall, London Stadium, San Jose Earthquakes Pay Pal Stadium, Liverpool Football Club, Flushing Meadows and a range of other sports venues including stadia and race courses. The technology has also been used to reinstate various bridges in Europe and the US. Bridge deck renewal typically required closure of the entire bridge facility, but using SPS for repairs enables some lanes or tracks on a bridge to remain open and operational while other areas are repaired.

In a marine context, SPS has already been widely used in steel reinstatement on bulk carriers, ro/ro’s, passenger ships, offshore rigs and FPSOs. However, as a composite material based on an elastomer core, SPS repairs are still seen … mistakenly … as an expensive option. Ian Nash has been Business Manager of marine operations at SPS Technology for the last 14 years. He likes to highlight the various benefits of the product.

“We use less steel because we have less complicated designs with no need for secondary stiffeners. Since we use existing steel for one side of the plate system, there is no impact on adjacent spaces, requirement for scaffolding or insulation removal and the core between the two steel sheets acts as a million tiny little stiffeners, reinstating and strengthening the deck in a global manner” he explains.

The result is a stronger structure with a range of attractive features – A60 fire rating, blast-proof, vibration-resistant, impact resistant, stronger with higher spot-loading, lighter, reusable, recyclable and capable of installation with no hotwork. In certain applications, the strength of SPS means that the new steel sheet on one side of the composite can be significantly thinner and lighter than in a conventional repair. For deadweight-limited ships, this raises cargo carrying capacity in future operation.

However, the main benefit lies in time savings, particularly in today’s market. “Your ship is only making money when it’s at sea,” Nash declares. “It’s not earning anything when it’s alongside or in a shipyard. I have case studies to show that we can complete thousands of square metres in a fraction of the time compared with steel renewal – even in alongside repairs.”

He gives one example. “A couple of years ago, I worked on an offshore construction vessel. There was a requirement for 545 m2 of steel reinstatement. We finished in 10 days, five days ahead of schedule, and saved a significant amount of steel that would have been required in a conventional repair for longitudinal strength and impact resistance. The owners were delighted, particularly since it is a permanant repair that would never need more work in the future.”

However, SPS has applications in the newbuild sector too. Its blast-proof feature makes it ideal for modular construction, including citadel units for commercial vessels, for example. For a new FPSO, Nash describes how SPS was applied to longitudinal bulkhead plating between the Emergency Generator Room, the Central Control Room, and the Permit Office. The purpose was to raise the strength of the structure and to provide protection for personnel and equipment against blast load.

“The advantages for the owner,” Nash explains, “included a stronger, more durable structure completed with minimal disruption or complications. SPS is able to withstand very high accidental loading conditions because forces are absorbed globally across the structure,

Comparison of double bottom repair cost versus SPS Compact Double Hull

SPS technology offers significant savings in space and weight. The life-long composite product can raise a ship’s productivity, a key parameter in IMO’s emissions-related Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index and its Carbon Intensity Indicator

PU injection on the main deck of the FPSO Capixaba

rather than locally, which is the situation with conventional stiffened steel.”

SPS also offers a practical option for on-site steelwork to FPSOs which remain on station for long periods. The company can undertake repairs, including steel refurbishment below the water line (from inside), without using divers or a cofferdam. In such applications, using SPS is much cheaper - in one project, involving the replacement of a 1 m2 area of severely pitted bottom plating on an FPSO, a repair using SPS technology worked out at less than a 10th of a conventional steel repair.

In another offshore context, SPS technology would be suited to monopile construction for offshore wind turbines. Traditionally, these are single-skin tubular steel rings that are welded together. Because of their weight and the challenges relating to installation, their height can be a limiting factor. SPS monopiles would be lighter, stronger, taller, and capable of installation in deeper waters.

Nash is keen to emphasise the company’s flexible operation. Major partners include SRC Estonia, Marine Offshore Management, Scotland, and Asian Sealand Offshore Marine in Singapore. “These three partners are doing really well,” he says, “but we have other partners in South America, in Africa, and in Australia.

Forth Engineering to develop hull repair technique

A UK engineering firm known for its world-first innovations is part of a European consortium developing pioneering technology for the shipping industry. Forth Engineering, based in Cumbria, is working with 12 other companies and organisations across Europe to develop inwater Friction Stir Welding (FSW) technology to revolutionise the way ships hulls are repaired.

It is the first time in the 20-year-history of Forth, which with partners has already been praised for its pioneering work developing an FSWBot for the maintenance and repair of pipelines around the world, has worked on a European-wide project.

RESURGAM aims to change the way work and repairs on shipping across Europe is done by developing a portable Underwater Friction Stir Welding robot which will make processes safer, faster and more cost-efficient than conventional welding.

Forth, with its expertise in Friction Stir Welding, is the technical manager of the project and will be developing the Underwater Friction Stir Welding technology. The new technology will combine the latest developments in robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and FSW techniques to offer low-cost retrofit systems for modular fabrication and AI-enabled robotic repair of ships with the ability to work underwater and through oil.

This will enable responsive, remote, at sea repair anywhere in the world, which will have major advantages in safety, time and money compared to a current labour-intensive survey and repair approach which requires expensive specialist divers often working in hazardous conditions or for ships to spend costly time out of the water in drydocks.

RESURGAM will bring benefits to modular, multi-site construction of new build ships as well as mid-life retrofitting and modifications. It will also allow repairs to be performed effectively and efficiently in confined spaces.

Digital connectivity is also at the heart of the project to enable stakeholders to co-operate on modular production of high-tech ships and on the planning and implementation of ship repair, modification and maintenance.

Many European smaller and medium sized shipyards and shipbuilders are currently not able to manufacture and maintain hightech large ships due to the lack of adequate resources and capabilities including suitably sized drydocks. RESURGAM will create global market opportunities for these European SMEs by delivering technologies that will enable them to be at the forefront of the industry. Peter Routledge, Forth Project Manager, said, “This is another first for Forth to be working with so many partners from across Europe on a pan-European project. RESURGAM enables the team at Forth to build on the expertise and innovation we have demonstrated on a number of recent projects, including FSWBot, and apply that thinking to help solve a problem for an industry as big as the global shipping sector.

Kongsberg Digital has won a contract with Sweden’s Marinvest to install Vessel Insight

Kongsberg Digital signs contract with Marinvest

Norway’s Kongsberg Digital has announced that it has signed a contract with Sweden’s Marinvest to install Vessel Insight on five of its fleet of 10 oil and chemical tankers. By installing Vessel Insight, Marinvest will collect vital data for vessel performance optimisation and emissions reduction. The installations have already commenced.

Marinvest have been using Kongsberg Maritime’s Autochief 600 propulsion control system for five years, leveraging its Fuel and Speed Pilot functions to aid fuel and speed

Peter Routledge

optimisation. Vessel Insight, which builds on Kongsberg’s long-standing history as a system integrator and leading provider of automation and information management systems, will work in tandem with the Fuel and Speed Pilot applications to facilitate vessel performance optimisation by measuring emissions that are not currently monitored. This integrated approach – enabled by Vessel Insight – is expected to deliver significant savings, in addition to giving Marinvest a common infrastructure for all critical data signals and making them ‘digital-ready’ for integration with future software applications.

Amid rising regulatory pressure to combat global warming, the shipping industry is adopting measures to become more energy efficient in an effort to meet requirements such as those set by EEESI. With Vessel Insight, Marinvest plans to expand their digital approach to the challenge, collecting critical data to measure and reduce emissions through increasing ship efficiency.

CCS surveys ore carrier

One of the most advanced and energy efficient VLCCs ever built in China is now operational following extensive surveys by China Classification Society (CCS). The 307,000 dwt CS Hunan Venture was successfully delivered by its builders – China’s Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Group (DSIC). The vessel is owned by China Shipbuilding Consulting Company and operated by Wah Kwong Ship Management, Hong Kong.

Fan Qiang, Vice President of CCS attended the ceremony and said the CS Hunan Venture’s innovative design means its Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) is more than 20% below the baseline, which is one of the best in the world for VLCCs of the same size. The vessel’s comprehensive performance indices reached world first class during surveying.

“The ship has excellent energy-saving and environmental protection performance because it has a straight bow design profile and is equipped with a new type of main engine a MAN 7G80ME-C9.5 made by Dalian Marine Diesel. She has a propeller of large-diameter and high-efficiency, and a before-propeller energy-saving device which DSIC has an independent intellectual property right for. This is a new highly competitive ground-breaking generation of ship design for the new build market.” CCS said the vessel meets the Harmonised Common Structural Rules (HCSR) and complies with the Inventory of Hazardous Materials according to both IMO Ship Recycling Convention and EU regulations.

The CS Hunan Venture has a total length of 333 m, a width of 60 m and a cruising range of more than 26,000 nm. It can pass through the Strait of Malacca with a designed draft of 20.5 m and a normal loading rate 2m bbls of crude oil. CCS now has more than 100 VLCC ships classed in its fleet.

NMMS – over 24 years of recruiting

What better argument of the outstanding value than the recognition of the vast knowledge and experience of over 24 years of performances? Nedcon Maritime Manpower Supply (NMMS) was well established in 1997 with the sole purpose in recruiting and supplying tailormade manpower solutions to all the received demands and the most difficult enquires, offering the best level of services for Client’s performance.

As Narcis Bacaiuntan, Managing Director of NEDCON Maritime Manpower Supply briefly states, “We strive to obtain only the best results and to bring growth opportunities for our clients, employees and partners. All our work is characterised by fairness, honesty and integrity. We understand that our clients want the highest quality candidates available within the shortest amount of time. Every enquiry starts with a complete understanding of client specific requirements and timing. After, we tailor every requirement by researching best candidates, networking, interviewing, asking for references. Our commitment and approach are customised to the client’s needs and we always ask for the client feedback to ensure success.”

NMMS aims to offer the best manpower services, by accurately identifying and fulfilling the client’s demands, and constantly coordinating and co-operating with them, in the following activity fields: • Shipyard personnel • Riding teams • Crew for all types of vessels • Oil and Energy Professionals • Hospitality Personnel

“We pride ourselves on the capacity of understanding the maritime industry dynamics and development and quickly react and adapt with the best manpower solutions and resources. The main key that differences us from other companies is our focus in building long term partnerships and collaborations with our clients. Our market reputation is built upon long lasting relationships, integrity and trust. We prove a high level of repeat business based on the fact that many of our clients come to us by referral.”

NMMS qualifies for the position of the most suitable and trusted partner for the recruiting excellence by offering the best recruitment solutions, ensuring timely and reliable supply of manpower to any client searching for excellence. Our credentials received from reputable clients prove our capacity to offer quality services and cost - effective manpower solutions.

SORJ

The CS Hunan Venture